Not quite sure what is going on with me, but my recent redecoration of the dining room with pinging accents of orange, has created a need for hunting out more orange bits and pieces ready for the festive season. Tablecloths, candles, candles and so on. This is quite a hard colour to source, especially with good quality table linens. I never even liked orange much before I did this room, so finding things is quite hard as I don’t even have a mental stash of where I have seen things in the past that are appropriate. With Christmas approaching I also wanted to spend as little as possible as there is lots of other shopping ahead to do.
Some serious hunting for a table cloth online resulted in either horrible poly cotton banquet plain tablecloths which headed into neon territory, or 100% Irish linen dyed to order at eye watering prices. I also looked at buying fabric directly, but I kept choosing the most expensive fabrics and £120 a meter is not really budget-friendly. I also need an ENORMOUS tablecloth, as at Christmas I have my cunning extra large tabletop that comes out of storage and sits on top of the existing table. It seat 14 easily, and in the past I have had to either make cloths for it or adapt king size bedspreads. All were tastefully neutral, and not at all suitable for the colours in the room now.
I needed something to ping, and this is the sort of orange colour I needed. Really pumpkin-like.
And lo, along came ebay. I have not used it for a while, mainly as postage has got so expensive in the UK that people seem to have stopped selling on it so much. But I started to hunt for anything orange, and then this original 1970’s St Michael (M&S) bedspread appeared tucked away in the bedding section. It is woven damask in shades of orange, perfect for a pop of colour, and looks like something from dressing a 70’s TV sitcom. And Reader, I bid immediately. In fact no-one else bid on what looked frankly pretty awful in the picture, so I got it for a song. Here it is, looking a bit grim and dated on ebay.
It turned up yesterday, and actually it really works in the room!
It is really bright orange and yellow with lovely fat bullion fringing. It works with all the other soft furnishings in the room. And it is massive and will easily fit the Christmas table top.
Until then, I have used it in the corner of the room on a round table, replacing a ‘tastefully beige’ one. It would not work anywhere else in the house at all, but it does suit the dining room scheme. Job done, total cost £8.50.
Emma Kayne 
Thanks so much for that it is exactly what I need. I think the 70’s have a lot to answer for really colour wise although I like the sound of your ‘pops’ of orange and the bedspread certainly give a ‘pop’!
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Hello! My cunning large tabletop is really simple; made from a sheet of MDF which I got in Wickes and then jigsawed to the exact size I wanted (it comes in huge sheets which are very wide and they also deliver), the edges also need sanding just to stop them looking like mdf.
When it was the size I wanted I then painted it in chalk paint and distressing wax so it doesn’t look like MDF anymore but like pale weathered wood so you don’t have to use a tablecloth if you don’t want to. It is about 3cms thick, so when it sits on top of the smaller table it doesn’t bow anywhere where it overlaps the one under it. We store it in the garage where it is just propped up against a wall, and bring it in for big family occasions. I have seen them done online with piano hinges all the way down them so they can be folded, but if you have somewhere you can store it this is not needed. It was cheap to do, and much less hassle than having to buy a huge expanding table which was my only other option to get everyone in at Christmas/easter etc.
Hope that helps, I know what you mean about the 70’s, my mum had some very choice decorations, and orange and turquoise were v popular I remember. I had a particularly frightening wallpaper ion my room with scary purple haired ethereal people, and matching brown and purple sheets… ouch!
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Are you able to share with us your ‘cunning extra large tabletop’? I am thinking of downsizing our table as it is really toooo big for 2 but I need more space when my family comes home. Our first flat in the 70’s was decorated in orange, brown and lime green….the orange lounge suite (faux leather) was a particularly loud shade of orange. I have never been able to bring myself to include any of those colours ever since. I do like your room and the way you have used it, maybe there is hope for me yet!
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